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By Esther B. (Campbell) Gates In memory of Sp/4 Keith Allen Campbell DSC, BSM, PH
MY Son… NOW SLEEP Peace has come. Now you can truly sleep my son. The muddy field where you were laid Flag-draped, will now be green. Redbud and cherry blossoms can be seen Soon in bloom above your head. Arlington's Eternal Flame Flickers across granite rows To illuminate your name; And then beneath it (with lightning's calm) Strikes in black the word VIETNAM On your own stone. Peace has come. Your medals may turn green In time, like your beret. But forever there are those who'll say, "I live because he cared--he came!" You need no longer wander a tormented soul. You achieved your personal goal Of saving lives, easing pain. Now sleep in peace, my son. Sleep! Our Nation has assured You did not die in vain And I no longer weep alone. ARLINGTON'S VIETNAM DEAD I wonder if you walk at night Among those granite stones Awakening sleeping souls to flight To rattle history's bones. I wonder if you sit to chat At Mr. Lincoln's knee Discussing all the "this" and "that" That makes up history. For history is what stretches wide Before my brimming eyes As the shimmering Potomac's tide Blends with the lighted skies. Row on row they sleep Below me, now and forever more. I count the stones (like counting sheep) From each and every war. "Can there be peace?" I'm sure they ask At Mr. Lincoln's knee. "To bleed and die was our task, And now we're history. But we did not love--we did not live There was so little time. Is twenty years too much to give To fill an empty shrine?" And as I stare and listen well I'm sure that I can hear A quiet splash in the columned cell That's another Lincoln tear. THE MISSING MAN I stood beside the empty grave Waiting for my friend, Saying deep within my soul, "This cannot be the end." Then I heard a mighty roar; Looked into the blinding sky As four planes in close formation Streaked above to say good-bye. In a single moment One pulled out, up, and away And left a gaping hole In that formation on this day. As he did a "barrel roll" (Bounding upward to disappear) I heard my friend's bright laughter As I wiped away a tear. In that priceless, shining moment My heart leaped up with pride For I knew my friend would forever fly. I knew he had not "died." Esther B. (Campbell) Gates © 2000 Lives in San Antonio, Texas Where her son, Keith, trained to become a Medic "His goal was to become an Army Doctor"
"God Of Our Fathers-US Army Hymn" Background By: In His Image
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